Today was a cultural day for the Plus3 Argentina group! We had a guided walking tour of the neighborhood Recoleta from around 9 AM to noon. It began to drizzle a little, but we did not let that stop us. My friends and I had the pleasure of going on walks around Retiro before, but we never got this deep into Recoleta. All around us, there were cute little shops, restaurants, and cafes. It was just an overall gorgeous neighborhood! One of my favorite sites was called The Panera Rosa, which means the pink cafe. Everything was pink! Learning about the history behind some buildings, monuments, and parks was super interesting. One thing I learned was about Argentina’s terrorist attacks, which I had no knowledge on. There was one sometime in the 90’s by the Israeli government, where a van with bombs crashed into a building, killing many people. In that same site, there are trees planted for every person that died during that horrific event. Moving on, we entered Recoleta cemetery. This was so beautiful, as each tombstone was different. My favorite was walking past Eva Peron’s resting site, which was filled with flowers and shrubs to celebrate her life. After walking around for about an hour in the cemetery, a bus picked us up to go to Museo Evita. We enjoyed one of my favorite lunches so far, which was pesto fusilli. At around 2 PM, we entered the museum. It was all about Evita Peron’s life in chronological order.
Here, we learned a lot on how peronism is related to the organization of the Argentine healthcare system. Peronism is an Argentine ideology, created by Juan and Eva Peron during their time of ruling Argentina. It is widely known and loved by most Argentines, as the Peron’s are still often celebrated and memorialized. The main ideas behind Peronism are nationalism, anti-capitalism, and patriotism led by Populists. Everything was mostly fair for all races in Argentina, including Argentines and any immigrants that came to leave here. Eva Peron worked hard with women’s suffrage, peacefully resolving differences between socioeconomic classes, and unraveling the importance of trade unions, or Obras Sociales, in everyday working life. This applies to the healthcare system of Argentina due to allowing women to work and becoming the amazing nurses they are today, as well as explaining the significance of being in a trade union as a healthcare worker. Being in a union doesn’t just guarantee you rights while working, but negotiates pay and policies, leading to better outcomes and care for the patients. Obras Sociales is a huge part of healthcare as it is one of the main sectors. Without Peronism, it is unknown if there would be a sector similar to trade unions or if healthcare workers would have the rights they do today in the workplace.
We finished walking around the museum, which was laid out beautifully. We had an awesome tour guide who was super educated on the life of Evita Peron and how her actions positively impacted Argentine culture. Stay tuned for back to business casual tomorrow!
